Cry
by BEASTMASTERTOAD
Summary: This is a short story based off of the folktale, "the Boy who Cried Wolf". It's placed in the world of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It's about a young boy who grows into maturity after a series of events that take place. Please enjoy it!


**Cry**

Fedius sat on a bell of hay with wheat in his mouth as he gazed at the golden sun of the morn with a smile. More than anything he could think of doing, even exploring the vast forest nearby, he loved to witness the birth of another day. Not that he though of mornings in such deep ways, but he enjoyed the sheer spectacle of its array of many colors. It was also the time of day that he could relax and just enjoy the nature of the world without being forced to delve into it through work.

_I don't feel like herding today…_

Fedius was the Shepard boy for his parent's farm – well, they weren't really his parents, more like surrogate parents. According to his "Father", he was a captive of a group of scary, bloodthirsty monsters that wanted to sell him as a slave. One day, he was on his way to the castle town when he came across those monsters that had him. He fought them and slew them all and saved him. "Father" describes the moment he found him as "A gift from Faron". He took him in as his son and decided to call him "Fedius", for "Nameless".

He was the nameless boy.

The day he found out that his name meant that, he found it hard to look at his parents with the same unquestionable love as he did before. He had bitterness in his heart, especially after "Father & Mother" had their first-born "real" child. Even though they constantly assure him that they still loved him, he saw that more and more, he was being shunned in favor of his "Brother".

He was the nameless boy that nobody paid attention to.

Suddenly, he heard the loud cry of the morning Cuckoo, signifying that they day had begun. Another day of thankless herding of the Ordonian goats. Fedius leaped down from the hay bell and picked up his herding stick and made his way to the farm. As he walked through the village, he looked around at how the morning Cuckoo caused everyone to spring to life. The watermill was turning, the pumpkin gardens were being tended to, and the Cuckoos ran about the village.

"Hey, Fedius!"

He turned around to see a little girl with blonde hair, wearing a white shirt and tan pants, running to him while she waved.

"Oh, hey, Ilia,"

Ilia was the one person that paid attention to him. She was the one person who he felt an uncanny connection to. While the other kids in the village seemed to avoid him like he had a terrible disease, she was the only one who offered him friendship. Her father also happened to be the Mayor of the village, so she wasn't just anybody. Ilia stopped in front of him and smiled.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Fedius sighed. "I really don't feel like going to the pastures today."

"Oh, that's too bad. I would go too, but my daddy wanted me to take care of the Cuckoos today,"

"They must be more fun to watch than those boring goats. All they do is eat, stand, and poop. Occasionally they'll make an noise, but there's nothing that they do."

Ilia laughed with a pure and genuine tone. "I'm sure it's not that bad, it's only as fun as you make it! I chase the Cuckoos around and play tag with them. I'm sure you can do something!"

"That'll never happen," Fedius said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, have fun!" she said, and then she ran off, waving back at him.

He smiled, returning the wave. _Well, time to get bored…_ He continued down the path to the farm.

The Ordonian goats littered the green pasture, grazing on the grass, or just standing around as Fedius watched with a brown and white colt that stood with him. Fedius sighed as he gazed upon the dismal sight. He probably would have gone mad long ago if it wasn't for his colt companion, Epona. She was the only thing that he could talk to, the only thing that kept him company for the long days that he had to watch the field. Ilia also occasionally stopped by to see Epona too. She almost acted like a mother to the colt whenever she was with her.

"Epona, do you ever get tired of standing out here everyday?" Fedius asked, looking at the elegant steed.

She looked to Fedius, as she continued to move her lips in a chewing motion.

"I just don't know how you do it. Wouldn't you want to run free in the fields of Hyrule?"

Epona snorted abruptly and shook her head as she moved her focus to the goats again.

He smirked. "I guess that's a yes,"

He just as he went to lie in the grass, he remembered what Ilia said. _"I'm sure it's not that bad, it's only as fun as you make it!"_

He got an idea as soon as he remembered. Fedius got up again and ran to one of the goats. _I hope this works._ He smacked the goat on its hind leg and yelled, "You're it!"

He turned to run, but then he realized that the goat hadn't even noticed what he did. _Oh, you dumb goats._ He approached the goat and raised his hand high. He brought it down and slapped it as hard as he could.

"Fedius, you really should be careful with the goats," said his mother as she finished sticking the bandage to his face.

The goats ran him down almost immediately after he slapped them. It obviously didn't turn out well for him. He was at least fortunate not to have broken anything, but he had plenty of scrapes on his arms, legs, and face. _Goats are a lot different than Cuckoos…_

"What were you trying to do anyway?" she asked, pushing the blonde bangs of her hair from her eyes.

"Well, I just--."

Suddenly, her baby, Colin, began crying, after just waking up. She got up and went to tend to him and make him calm. Fedius closed his mouth and his face fell as he watched her ignore him. He should have been used to it, but it wasn't something that he was able to get over. He silently stood up and walked out of the house.

The golden sunset cast a lovely glow over Ordon Village, giving it a heavenly look. Fedius sat on a branch of the tall tree nearby the house, watching the sunset. Unlike the sunrise, he didn't particularly enjoy the sunset because it meant that nighttime would come, meaning that he would have to go to bed soon. But this time, watching the sunset seemed like a fitting thing to do, given the depressing day he had. He could only wait for the day that the harvest season would end so that he could just be a kid again. _If this is how adults live, then I never want to grow up._

After the morning Cuckoo, Fedius began down the village path to return to the fields of boredom, as he thought of it. The usual morning grind had once again started.

"Fedius! Hey!" called out a soft, familiar voice.

It was Ilia as she ran to him from behind, just as she did yesterday.

"Oh, hey Ilia," Fedius replied in a gloomy tone.

Ilia frowned slightly. "Why are you so sad?"

"Playing tag with goats isn't as fun as with Cuckoos," he said.

"Did you get hurt?" Ilia asked.

Fedius grimaced slightly. "You definitely aren't that bright, aren't you," he sarcastically said, pointing to an injury on his face.

"Oh! I didn't notice that!" she said, laughing it off. "Maybe you should try something that won't get them angry at you then."

"Not another suggestion," Fedius said.

"I don't have one, but I'm sure you can think of something!" She began walking past him. "I have to go now, bye!" She ran down the path.

"_I'm sure it's not that bad, it's only as fun as you make it!"_

Yeah, well easy for you to say…

Fedius and Epona stood in the midst of the field in the same spot they always stood. He wiggled a piece of straw that hung from his mouth as he stared in contempt at the prodding goats that ceaselessly grazed upon the green grass.

"Epona," he said, pausing as if he expected the youthful colt to respond, "Did you hear the wolves last night, howling?"

Epona looked up at him and snorted.

"It sounded like there were a lot of them. If only they would have eaten these stupid goats," he said, leaning on Epona.

Suddenly, it came to him. "It" would surely make things more exciting, and not just here at the farm either. He grinned impishly as he devised the plot that would end the boredom for him, and for many others too. Epona neighed.

Fedius grabbed a horn at his side. It was only supposed to be used when there was an emergency that threatened the pasture. _This will get them going._ He put the horn to his mouth and blew as hard as he could. The deep sound vibrated through the fields and down into the village. _It won't be long now._ He mounted Epona and prompted her to ride him to the ranch's gate. Once there, he waited for them to come. In the distance, he saw the Mayor and his father running up the path toward him. _This is it!_ He could barely contain himself as they drew near. The Mayor and his father stopped when they reached him.

"What's wrong?" said his father, holding his two-edged sword.

"We haven't had an emergency in the field for months," cited the Mayor.

Fedius tried his best not to let them see the laughter that was rushing through his expression.

"What's wrong?" his perplexed father asked.

Epona snorted and shook his head as if in disapproval.

Fedius abruptly began to laugh, nearly falling off of Epona. "There isn't any emergency!" he struggled to say through the laughter.

The Mayor's face became indignant. "Fedius! The emergency horn is nothing to joke with! Every time it's used, that means that there is an emergency that threatens the goats and we take it seriously!"

"Fedius, this isn't funny," said his father, also displeased with his actions.

Fedius sat up, knowing that it was no longer funny. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was so serious," he said, putting on a solemn face.

"Just don't do it again."

The two walked away, returning to the village. He got the attention he wanted, and he had fun doing it. The fields of boredom were no more.

"Oh, Fedius, what am I going to do with you?" his mother said, putting her hand on her head in frustration. She was holding Colin in her other arm as he slept. "Just what possessed you to use the horn knowing that there was no emergency?"

"I don't know, I just was bored so I--."

"—Blew the horn? Fedius, do you hear how ridiculous you sound?" she abruptly said, frowning her eyes.

He looked down in remorse. "Yes…"

His mother's face grew calm again. "Just don't do it again. The village is already upset that you did that."

Fedius nodded.

Fedius sat at his favorite branch to watch the twilit sky. Recently, he found himself drawn to the sunset. Its otherworldly glow had captured his imagination and inspired different feelings than the morning sun did. Not only that, but it was the best way he could think of to ease the day's stress. _I have never seen the village so upset over something that small._ Fedius sighed as he leaned forward.

"Are you feeling okay?" said that cheerful voice he knew. Ilia climbed up to the branch he sat on and sat beside him.

"Yeah, it's just that everyone's been hounding me because I blew the horn."

"Well, my daddy says that the horn isn't a toy that should be played with."

He started swinging his legs. "I don't understand why grown-ups don't know how to relax and laugh a little every once in a while."

"It's because they are too busy being worried about everything to remember how to laugh." Ilia said, still keeping a jovial smile. Her eyes became relaxed as she looked into the twilight. "The sunset's beautiful,"

Fedius looked out to the horizon. "Yeah,"

The soft autumn wind caressed Fedius' feet as he stood in the field once again. I was an exceptionally warm day for the Harvest season, allowing Fedius to wear his summer sandals, which he liked wearing much more than the fur-lined cold season sandals. Epona galloped about the field, enjoying the warmth of the air._ Well, I guess it's back to doing nothing again._ He knelt down in the grass to give his feet a break as he looked at the grass in an absent-minded manner. Suddenly, he noticed a small beetle trying to overtake a small black ant. The struggle went on for a while before more ants began appearing. They were coming from an anthill nearby. The legion of ants overwhelmed the outnumbered beetle and took it down. Somehow, they all knew that the ant was in trouble and they came to its rescue. This reminded him of the horn at his side.

"_Fedius! The emergency horn is nothing to joke with! Every time it's used, that means that there is an emergency that threatens the goats and we take it seriously!"_

His hand quivered as he tried his best to contain his urge to fulfill his mischief. What he did yesterday got the attention of the whole village and, at the same time, he had fun doing it. _I know it's bad, but it's so boring around here!_

"Fedius, this is a serious problem. You have twice blown the horn in mischief," said his father.

Fedius sat on a wooden bench in the Mayor's house. His father and the Mayor stood in front of him; his father's fist on his hips and the Mayor's arms crossed.

"Do you realize that you are betraying the people's trust in their Shepard? Your father gave you this job because he thinks that you are a responsible man, and a man is someone who has a keen sense of right and wrong. Do you want to prove him wrong?" said the Mayor.

Fedius shook his head no. His eyes were teary, as if he could let loose a torrent of tears if he blinked.

"I believe that you are a special man, Fedius, but you have to believe that you are too. It's not enough for only me to believe," said his father.

"I think the boy has gotten the point," said the Mayor as he unfolded his arms and walked to the door. "We believe that you are a man. Don't make us think otherwise."

"It's getting dark," noted Fedius, as he looked on the horizon from his favorite branch.

Ilia, who sat beside him, shifted her body as she prepared to jump down. "I'm about to go. I'll try to meet you at the ranch tomorrow so you won't be so bored!" She jumped to the ground and looked up to him. "It's going to be fun! Bye!"

Fedius returned the farewell with a wave as she ran off. With the trouble he has gotten into lately because of the horn, he needed something else to do if he was going to keep himself from his impish delights the next day. Ilia and he would play tag with Epona and hide-and-seek. Tomorrow definitely wouldn't be a boring day.

It was a bleak and windy morning as he walked down the village path to the fields. The deep gray of the clouds and the roar of the wind seemed like something inspired from a campfire tale. _I hope it doesn't rain so we won't be stuck inside all day._ The morning grind wasn't as vigorous as it usually was. The cry of the waking birds was absent, the waterwheel was oddly slow, and the pumpkin patches were left unattended to. Some, though, still stirred amidst the darkly morn, tending to other goat farms or their houses.

Fedius made it to the gate of the ranch. Just as he put his hand on the gate to push it open, he heard the cry of a colt. _Epona!_ Fedius pushed open the gate and ran into the barn. The goats were not in the barn, neither was Epona. Either Ilia let them out, or…

Fedius ran to the tool shelf in the barn and grabbed a finely crafted wooden sword. His father made it for him last year, when Fedius became the Shepard boy, saying that one day he would have to protect the goats and become a man. He hoped that that time wasn't now.

Once outside, he saw his very fear realized: Three forest goblins prowled the pasture with deadly clubs, running after the fleeing herd of Ordonian goats. Ilia rode Epona ahead of the herd, leading them away from the danger.

"Ilia!" yelled Fedius.

"Fedius! Monsters are attacking us! Blow the horn!" she urged.

He thought about yesterday just as he put the horn to his mouth.

"Do you realize that you are betraying the people's trust in their Shepard?"

He wasn't sure if they would be happy with him if he blew the horn again, after twice blowing it in falsehood.

"Blow it!" she yelled.

The goblins were catching up to the herd. He resolved with himself and put aside his fears. He blew the horn as loud as he could. The great echo thundered through the field and far off, catching the attention of the monsters. They quitted their chase of the herds and gave a sharp look to Fedius before they charged him.

_"I believe that you are a special man, Fedius, but you have to believe that you are too. It's not enough for only me to believe,"_

Fedius gripped the wooden sword with both hands and took a fighter's stance, as if he had seen countless bloody battles. Without hesitation, the goblin that reached him first delivered a downward swing to Fedius, but he dodged it. Fedius quickly countered with a strike at the creature's head, knocking it off of its feet. Before he knew it, however, another one struck him in the back, downing him also. The third goblin swiftly followed up, bringing down his club on Fedius.

_"We believe that you are a man. Don't make us think otherwise."_

Fedius' father stopped his workhorse as he caught the sound of the Shepard horn that he had grown used to hearing. The Mayor stopped beside him as well.

"Looks like the lad's up to it again, Rusl," he said, folding his arms in disapproval.

"And here I thought that we actually got through to him. Well, do you think go see him?" Rusl said, with a half-smile.

"Nah, I think he's doing it for the attention. If we ignore him, he'll realize that no one cares about his mischief and he'll stop." The Mayor said, nodding his head in approval of what he said.

"Are you sure he's not telling the truth?" said Rusl, in a serious tone.

"I'm as sure as Lake Hylia is wet. But if you want to, we can check up on the boy."

"I think that would be best,"

Time seemed to slow down as the fiend's club fell upon him. He felt a rush of emotions that he had never felt before: fear, despair, doubt, and countless others that he couldn't identify. He had to move himself, but he couldn't. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the hit.

Thud.

Fedius couldn't feel anything different. He didn't know if whether he was dead or if nothing happened. He knew the only way was to open his eyes. He slowly opened them. The goblin that attacked him was recovering from the ground as Ilia and Epona rode by. Ilia held a stick in her free hand.

"Fedius! Get up!"

Just as he went to stand, he suddenly felt a strange power overcome him, and everything suddenly froze around him, or, at least that's what seemed to happen. Suddenly, everything grew dark and a creature appeared before him. His countenance was so bright, that Fedius could barely gaze upon him. From what he could tell, the creature was a giant Ordonian – or some kind of goat, with horns that formed around an orb that emitted light too bright to look upon. It stood before him in a stately manner that seemed to command reverence.

_**"O, child of the field, why dost thou shrink before thy foe?"**_

Fedius was wide eyed and scared. He didn't know what to say to it, nor if it was a friend or enemy.

_**"Be not afraid of me. I come before thee as a friend and a guardian."**_

Fedius struggled to his feet. "A guardian? You're here to protect us?"

_**"No."**_

"Then what are you here for?"

_**"I have come to thee to impart unto thee a gift from the Goddess, Farore."**_

"A…gift?" said Fedius, confused at what it spoke about.

The orb of light in between the creature's horns grew brighter, and brighter, until Fedius was forced to close his eyes to block its sheer intensity. After a few seconds, he attempted to open his eyes again, and he saw the goat-like creature once again. He looked around to see what had changed.

"What did you do?" he asked.

_**"Look upon thy left hand."**_

He lifted his left hand and examined it. A set of three triangles appeared on his hand. Two of them sat side by side, while the other one rested on top of the two. The triangle on the bottom right was aglow with a soft yellow light.

"…What is this?"

_**"I have given thee the Triforce of Courage. Its former master no longer lives among us, and the other two already have their masters. Thou hast been chosen to be its new vessel. Take the gift of Courage and let no evil stand in thy path."**_

After its words, the creature faded until it disappeared from existence. Everything around him suddenly became brighter and brighter until it forced him to shut his eyes. Immediately, his eyes reopened to the scene of Ilia riding past him on Epona and the goblin she knocked over recovering to its feet. Fedius quickly looked at his left hand and saw the glowing shape that the creature referred to as the Triforce of Courage. Whatever happened to him, it wasn't a dream.

He grabbed his wooden sword and stood up as the trio of fiends charged him. Fedius let out a chilling yell as he ran to them with his sword in his left hand. He leaped into the air, closing the gap between him and his enemies and swung his sword down, striking the head of on of the goblins. It fell to the ground and did not move. One of the remaining two goblins swung his club at him and hit his head, sending him to the ground. Fedius cringed at the unbelievable pain he felt and held his head where he was hit.

"Fedius!" Ilia yelled, turning Epona to his direction.

The goblin that landed the blow walked to Fedius who lay on the ground and raised his club. _I've never felt pain like this before, but I can't let them harm the sheep!_ He turned on to his back and swung his sword, smacking the creature's jaw out of place. He kicked it back and then jumped to his feet and swung his sword across, breaking the goblin's neck. It collapsed to the ground and ceased moving.

"Fedius, behind you!" Ilia yelled.

He turned behind him to see the last goblin already in full swing at his head. This was it. He fought hard, but in the end, he wasn't able to prove himself a man. Fedius flinched to brace himself for what looked to be his end. He waited a few seconds, but nothing seemed to happen. He looked back, and saw that a sword impaled the creature's head. It dripped black blood from its wound before the sword slipped out of it and it fell to the ground. Rusl was the one on the handling end of the sword. He and the Mayor stood there with a look that seemed to be a mix of relief and amazement.

"Fedius… Did you stop these other two goblins?" asked Rusl, almost lost in his bewilderment.

"Fedius beat them!" said Ilia as she came to a stop with Epona. She jumped down from Epona and went to them.

"The lad did this?" said the Mayor, "The lad's naught but ten, yet he did what most men would fear to do."

Ilia walked to Fedius and extended her hand. "I'll help you up!" she said with a smile.

Fedius made eye contact with her and saw the never-ending source of benevolence that poured out. As bad as Fedius felt with all of his throbbing wounds, her pure smile was more than enough to make all of his negative feelings melt away. He returned the smile as he grabbed her hand and got up. Rusl patted his back and smirked.

"You've finally become a man." He pointed out to the goats in the pasture. "Look, all of the goats are safe because of you. Ilia and Epona are safe because of you. That is what a man does; He protects those he loves and those he has responsibility for."

"Let's go mend the boy's wounds," said the Mayor, as he walked ahead of them, holding Ilia's hand.

Fedius sat in the white sand of Ordona Spring, watching the sunset. Ilia told him about this spot, saying that her dad loves to watch the sunset here after a hard day's work. The clear, cool water that rippled in the spring sparkled beautifully with the golden rays of the sun. The spring had a serene feel to it, almost as if it were a whole different place altogether.

"What do you think?"

Fedius jumped as he heard the voice from behind. He turned to see Rusl approaching him. He took a seat beside Fedius.

"Oh, hey," said Fedius.

"I thought that you liked watching the sun rise, not set."

"Well, I guess things change,"

"That they do," said Rusl, nodding his head. He looked to the sun that peeked just above the far off mountain. "They say that the twilight is the only time that our world is linked to the otherworld beyond ours."

"What other world?"

"There are legends about a people that live in a world that dabbles in an unending twilight that is beautiful and peaceful."

"Is this true?" Fedius asked, becoming interested.

"Well, it's just a legend. No one knows if it's true." Rusl turned his eyes to Fedius. "Do you know why I named you 'Fedius'?"

He shook his head no.

"The night I found you, I had a vision from the spirit of this spring. It told me not to name you until it gave me a name for you, so I called you 'nameless' to compensate for it. You probably didn't like me too much for it, since you've been given such a hard time because of your name among the children."

"For a while," began Fedius, "I did hate you for it. I couldn't understand why I was the only child without a real name. It only got worse after Colin was born. After that, I thought that you guys didn't like me anymore."

"I guess I'm to blame then for all of the trouble you've gotten yourself into these last few days." Rusl looked into the water. "Last night, I had another vision from that same spirit from the day I found you. He finally gave me a name for you."

Fedius got to his knees, looking at Rusl with excitement. "What is it?"

"You are 'Link'"

_**Fin**_


End file.
